Painted Skins
by wootutoo
Summary: Castle á la Wild West style. After the US civil war Richard Castle, a reporter, and his daughter are sent to New Mexico to write an article on the murders of some indians. Upon their arrival they meet the lovely and interesting locals, but no one draws Richard's attention more than the Sheriff, Kate Beckett. Characters belong to Marlowe & ABC. Picture by Brian Bowen Smith. COMPLETE
1. Chapter 1

Lately I've been day-dreaming about cowboys and indians, so I thought I could give this a try.

Please, as I'm not from the States, keep two things in mind; 1st all the historical, geographical and fashion facts are based on what I've seen on movies and TV shows; 2nd, english is not my mother tongue, so if you spot a grammar mistake, let me know :)

The characters belong to Marlowe and ABC.  
Indians are awesome! I wish they would belong to me, but they belong to the Native American Heritage.

I hope you guys will like it.

Hugs,  
Anna

* * *

It was a hot summer day in New Mexico. The dry air played with her brown hair while she smelled its fragrance. Her mother had taught her about many wonders of Mother Nature, after all it was part of her heritage. The woman breathed in as much oxygen as her lungs would allow. Her eyes were closed. She felt as free as a young stallion. The sound of mild canter brought her back to reality, she turned her head to see a cowboy riding his horse towards her.

"Another red skin was found dead." Kevin Ryan, one of her helpers said.

"Who is capable of killing indians?" She asked looking at the horizon. "We have always lived in harmony and peace with them."

"It gets better." The cowboy added. "The union is sending a reporter so they can keep track of what is going on on the _Wild_ _West._"

She rolled her eyes. Damn those people in Washington. Why did they have to stick their noses where they didn't belong? It was like they never got tired of violence, didn't they had enough with the war that just finished between the South and the North of the country?

"Well, Ryan. There's nothing we can do about that." She said still looking at the endless mountains she had in front of her. "That reporter will probably return to Washington as fast as he came. No _yankee_ can survive the West."

She hit her horse softly and raced Ryan down the hill and into their town.

..

Miles away a daughter was trying to talk her father off from a horrible job he had taken.

"Dad, it is called the _Wild Wes_t because of something." The teenager said. "You can't expect we will fit in that small town"

"Alexis, I've told you millions of times, it is my job." Her father replied with a calmed tone of voice. "Besides, it will be fun!"

"You and I clearly have different definitions for fun." Alexis replied. The redhead and her father usually got along; but her father taking her to the land of no man was reckless and absurd. What could she possibly do in New Mexico? Get killed by the savages, that was for sure.

Alexis looked through the window. They had been traveling for days now, each day the landscape changed drastically, houses, woods, deserts, mountains. She felt like she was never going to return to Washington, to see her friends or Ashley ever again. Her heart broke a little. She would never forgive her father for this.

The carriage driver screamed a "WOOAH" and the horses halted. Alexis and her father looked outside the window to see why they had stopped. They were on a village; small wooden houses were on both sides of the road, people were walking and watching them with curiosity. To the redhead's dismay, everything looked dusty and the air felt sticky. Her father, on the other hand, was as excited as a kid in Christmas.

"Welcome to New Mexico, Mr. Castle." The driver said from his chair.

The driver helped Mr. Castle and his daughter to enter to the small local hostel where a lovely dark skinned lady lead them to their room. As much as Alexis hated her dad asking questions to strangers, Castle had to know everything about everyone; it is a habit that came with the job, he used to say. Alexis knew that it was the other way around, her father became a reporter because of his curious nature.

The lady, called Lanie, was Mexican woman who had moved couple of years ago to New Mexico. She and her husband, Javier Esposito, ran the hostel of the town. It was not something luxurious but it was cozy and warm, Castle loved it.

Lanie offered to take Mr. Castle to the Sheriff's Office; so after making Alexis as comfortable as they could, they took off. As they walked towards their destination Lanie tried to fill the reporter about everything and everyone in the town; John Gates was the mayor, but everybody knew that Victoria Gates, his wife, ran the town; Ryan worked for the mayor, he was also Sheriff Beckett's assistant; Jenny O'Malley was the daughter of the owner of the town's bar, she worked there everyday and knew everything about everyone.

The mexican lady stopped talking on the doorsteps of the Sheriff's Office.

"Here we are." She said looking at the west saloon doors. "See you later, Mr. Castle!"

Castle waved the woman goodbye and entered into the Sheriff's Office.

The office was empty except for a green-eyed woman. Her hair was brown and her skin was light olive colored. She smelled like a delicious spring day even if outside was hot as hell and everyone else was sweating. The lady was wearing brown pants, which was really unusual for a woman, and a linen shirt with the top buttons open.

She caught him staring at her with a raised eyebrow.

"Can I help you?"

"Yes, I am Richard Castle; I'm waiting for Sheriff Beckett." He said trying to not stare the woman anymore.

"Wait no more. I am Katherine Beckett, Sheriff of _Las Cruces_, New Mexico."

"But, you are a girl." He pointed out. "You shouldn't be a sheriff"

"And you are a yankee, you shouldn't be on the west; yet here we are, so let's make this quick and before we know it, we'll be free of each other's company."

Castle agreed to her plan, but he hoped it wouldn't work; he was fascinated by this woman and he wanted to study her as much as she could. Even though something deep inside kept telling him that Kate Beckett was a mystery he was never going to solve.

* * *

I just wanted to make a clarification for those who haven't connect the name of the story with the actual plot. It is called _Painted Skins_ because Native Americans were called _Red Skins_ and Europeans were called _Pale Skins._

And... I'm not going to say more, some of you probably got were I am going with this from the first chapter but for those of you who didn't, you guys will have to wait for it.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the positive reply, guys!

I usually reply the reviews on private, but I'll just say something regarding The Pianist's Touch's review. I know that history teaches us that pioneers hated indians an indians hated pale skins, but I refuse to think they ALL hated each other; maybe in some little town in New Mexico they could live in peace (just my wishful way of thinking).

Anyway, hope you like this chapter!

Hugs,  
Anna

* * *

"So, what do we do next?" Rick asked anxious.

"Well; night is going to fall soon, I need to go for a round, to check if everything is alright and that kind of stuff." She replied watching the map she had hanging in the wall, she didn't want to make it sound to interesting.

"Amazing, I'll go with you." Castle said excited. She raised an eyebrow, there was no way she'd let him come with her.

The wild west was a dangerous place, especially when the night falls. Everybody knew that when the stars went up in the sky, the west became wilder. You definitely didn't want to find yourself in the desert after the sun went down.

Kate when to the town's stables to get her horse, a black and white animal named _Caballo_, horse in spanish. Rick followed her.

"There is no way I'm going to get rid of you, right?" She asked. "Do you even know how to ride a horse?"

"I... _borrowed_ one from the police once." He replied.

Kate looked at him suspicious. That 'borrowed' sounded more like stole, but she didn't make a comment about it. The sheriff lent one of the town's horses to Rick and, against her will, went with him for a ride.

Both, Caballo and Kate, wanted to gallop; but she feared that Castle would fall from his horse in an attempt of following her rhythm. The female sheriff kept a tempo the reporter could easily follow. He looked like a fragile city boy, snobbish, full of pride; she wondered how long he would last on New Mexico. Maybe a week.

They stopped at the top of a hill on the west. The sun's light made the poor desert vegetation look like gold. Kate heard Castle sigh.

"Beautiful, right?" She asked him; expecting no answer. He was speechless anyway.

She could understand his reaction. The west was breathtaking, even to her, who had past every day of her life looking at it. Kate went horseback riding at least twice per day under the excuse of making security-check rounds and she still got amazed by the nature. Riding was something she had on her veins, something that made her feel free and closer to her mom. Sometimes she would imagine her mom galloping next to her.

"My mom and I used to ride." Kate opened to Rick. "She would tell me a new Native Story everyday."

"Sounds like the two of you were close." Castle said looking at her. She nodded without making eye contact.

Kate's sight was lost on the sunset. Her eyes shinned under the orange sky, like they were on fire. She looked fierce. Rick wondered if it was something only Kate had, or if it was a typical native american trait.

"What happened to her?" Castle asked. He couldn't help it, it was his reporter nature.

Kate lowered her sight and pet her horse.

"Not your business." She said dryly.

They reminded in silence; Castle dying to know what happened to Kate's mother and Kate regretting having opened up to him. She hated telling what happened to her mother; how a pale skin took the life out of her body, how he got away, how he destroyed her life. Caballo broke the silence with a neigh.

"I have to go home and feed Boy." Kate said suddenly as if the horse had remind her.

"If we race down hill, and I win, will you tell me your mother's story?" Castle asked as they headed back, the last sun-rays warming their backs.

Kate laughed. Minutes before, when they riding towards the hill, Castle almost fell from his horse twice. There was no way he would win the race.

"I'm not responsible if you die." Kate replied.

Castle softly hit his horse and ran down the hill like a professional rider, the sheriff watch in disbelieve and tried to catch up with him, but he was too far away.

After Kate and the writer boy left the horses at the stable, she thought he'd go back to his room at Lanie's Hostel, but instead he followed her. Kate wondered how long would she manage to be cool with this situation. She was a free soul, like an eagle, she hated being followed by people. She started thinking her patience would last less than the time Castle would manage to survive in Las Cruces.

"There's a coyote in your house." Castle stayed out of the blue when she opened her house's door. There was a little of panic in his tone

Richard got in front of her, between the animal and the sheriff, in an act of chivalry; trying to protect her. It was not like she needed protection, she was armed, but it was an instinct he had always had.

Kate laughed and bypassed Richard.

"Come here, Boy!" She tapped her knees; the coyote walked towards her and sat to be petted. Kate started mumbling to him.

"You have a coyote as a pet." Castle pointed out, still in shock. She looked at him

"It's like having a dog."

"More like a wolf." He said mostly to himself. Kate raised an eyebrow but remained silent. "Just out of curiosity. What does Boy eat?" He asked. Kate stood up and went to the kitchen.

"People that annoy me." She replied calmly and took an axe. Castle felt a lump down his throat.

Kate exited, with a look of satisfaction in her face, the room through the back door; leaving Castle alone with Boy. The reporter looked around trying not to make a lot of sound. The coyote watched him closely, waiting the perfect moment to attack.

The living room was decorated à la native american style. The rug had a handcrafted indian-patterned design, there was a dreamcatcher next to the window, a Hopi Kachina doll next to the bonfire, handmade pottery, an arrow and bow and some other indian stuff Castle didn't know how to name; and then he saw it, an indian headdress. He reached out for it, grabbed it and put it on his head.

He looked his reflexion in a dirty window. He looked tougher. Castle made different faces and laughed.

"What are you doing, Castle?" He heard Beckett asking. She had a dead chicken on her hands. "Didn't your mother teach you not to touch other people's belongings?"

_Or follow them around, or bother them at work, or ask stupid questions about their personal lives_, she though, but she didn't want to be too rude with the yankee.

"One of the many things she tried to taught me and I never learned." Richard answered with pride.

"Put that where you found it."

"Only if you tell me why are you so into the Savages." Castle replied, crossing his arms. "Because I bet you can't find these on a souvenir shop." He added.

Beckett let a breath out and looked at him. He was not going to give in on this.

"It was my grandfather's, alright? Now leave it."

"You are half indian? But you are white!" It was his only reaction.

"I am only _one quarter_ indian. And I don't consider myself white." Kate felt how her patience started to ran out. "It is really old, please put it on its place."

The tone she used was more a like a requesting tone rather than an imperative one, so Castle put the headdress carefully on its place.

Kate went to the kitchen and started to plug the feathers out of the dead chicken. Castle thought it was fascinating and disturbing at the same time; he had never seen anyone, let alone a woman, plugging feathers out of a dead chicken. In the other hand it was grotesque, even though there was no blood on the scene.

The sheriff saw him staring, but decided to stay quiet; she had shared with him more than what she had shared with other people she had know all her life. No one knew a lot about her life, no one cared either. This town had a _'don't ask, don't judge.'_ policy, and she liked it that way.

Kate fed the chicken to Boy once she was done and her attention went back to the reporter, who was sitting on a chair admiring her peace pipe.

"I think it's time for you to leave, Castle." She said while she cleaned her hands. "It's late and tomorrow we'll see what we can find out about the murders."

"Don't forget you still own me your mother's story!" Castle said cheerfully while he exited through the door, he was not going to forget about that debt.

Richard walked down the lonely street of Las Cruces. He was determined to solve all the mysteries this town had, starting with the murders and ending with the sheriff.


	3. Chapter 3

I have nothing to point out other than I don't know when I'll come up with chapter 4 because I'm pretty busy with college at the time. But stay tuned because as soon as I have time I'll upload.

Thanks for reading, following, alerting and reviewing; it means the world to me.

Hugs,  
Anna

* * *

"Are we really going to meet the savages?" He asked worried, then he remember about Kate's grandfather panache and he bite his tongue. "Aren't you at least a little bit scared?"

"I'm more afraid of the pale skins, who fight against their own brothers." She answered referring to the civil war. "Who kill with no reason. Indians, the always have a good reason behind their violence."

"Yeah, the skin color." Castle replied with sarcasm.

The coyote semi-barked at him. Castle had this vibe that the animal didn't like him very much.

"Why did you bring Boy with us, anyway? Is not like he can protect us if more than two indians find a reason to attack." Beckett rolled her eyes.

"I always ride with him." She explained sharply. "Now, let's enjoy the sounds of the nature, shall we?" Rick got the indirect, Kate didn't want to talk to him.

They had been horseback riding for the whole morning. Castle had sang all the songs he knew by now; Beckett was impressed of herself control, there were couple of times where she felt like killing him in sight. No one would ever judge her actions; after all, this was the wild west, the land of no laws.

Castle started whistling when Beckett shushed him. The seriousness of her face made him shut up without asking questions.

"What is it?" He whispered after a while.

"Nothing, I just like the silence."

Castle looked at her and started whistling again. Kate's horse neighed, it was Caballo's way to notify that something was going on. She shushed the writer again, this time Rick didn't pay attention the sheriff. Beckett started looking around to find the source of Caballo's neigh; she heard a murmur at the east.

"Castle. Shut up or I'll shoot you." Kate gave him the choice. She looked deadly serious so he chose the first one. Rick kept quiet with an angry expression on his face. Then the sheriff heard with more clarity a horse galloping towards them.

Beckett stopped her horse's march and looked around carefully. She saw a figure riding on the horizon, the sun was on his back. Kate couldn't differentiate anything from the rider. As the horse and its owner came closer Kate saw a feather in his head.

"Indians." She muttered. Castle looked nervously at her; below him, his horse also showed traits of fear. "Just keep calm and leave the talking to me." She ordered.

As the indian came closer the reporter could differentiate details about the stranger. He has a muscular man; his skin was not as red as Castle thought it would be; he was topless, only some collars with feathers and pebbles decorate his chest, and he wore a pair of beige pants that looked old and dirty.

"What is _Rides with Coyote_ doing with a Pale skin?" The indian asked. Castle couldn't help but noticing that the savage was addressing to Kate. Rides with Coyote? What did that mean? Did she know him?.

"We are investigating the murder of the indians." She said. The topic seemed to upset him; but Kate didn't back off, she looked fearless. "You _will_ take us to the grand chief."

The native and the sheriff exchanged some sounds that Castle didn't recognized. He deduced it was some kind of indian language and that they were having a fight over him, the murders or both. The discussion between the two western people stopped abruptly; and, from the look on their faces, Castle could infer that Kate had won the debate.

The savage started to ride, Castle and Beckett followed him.

"Yes, I know him." Beckett said after a while. "His name is Cheveyo"

"I didn't ask." Her partner replied.

"You were not asking very loud."

"Since we are flattering my abilities to gather information, What does Rides with Coyote mean?." He said with excitement in his tone.

Rick knew he was pushing it a little bit too far. He knew she hated talking about her life; but he needed to know and by asking he knew that there was a minute possibility of getting an answer.

"If you must know, it's my indian name." Kate replied after a short pause.

"Cool." Was his first reaction. "Can I also get an indian name?"

"No."

"Well, that was harsh, Sheriff Beckett." Castle replied. Kate looked right at his eyes.

"First, you need to be a 'Savage' and second you have to earn a 'Savage' name." She explained a little bit angry. "And made pretty clear that you dislike savages."

"Oh, so this is the reason why you have been grumpy all day long." He said. "And I thought it was because not eating makes you cranky."

Beckett realized Castle didn't know when to shut up. She cracked her neck and didn't reply to his comment. She was mad at Castle, she was mad at Cheveyo, she was mad at the murderer, she was mad at the owner of the newspaper Castle worked on, she was mad at every single person in the world.

She noticed an eagle flying over them; her mother used to tell her that when a person died, he or she could reincarnate on different animals to end an unfinished business on earth. Kate sometimes wondered if her mother had reincarnated in an animal, maybe in that eagle, who was watching her from the skies.

"I don't dislike Native Americans." She heard Castle's voice. "I don't know any, so my only source is what I read. I didn't want to sound rude, it's just the facts I had from Washington."

Deep inside Kate knew he meant the apology, he was not an evil man, but how could he annoy her. Castle was looking at Kate, so she guessed that he didn't see the Indian Village appear in front of them. She pointed at it, it's sight left Castle speechless. It was no surprise, she remembered the first time she had visited the village, everything was so different than from the town; their houses were tents, they worked outside and not on shops, they all behaved like a family.

The red skins stopped doing whatever they were doing when they saw the two men and the woman horseback riding into their village. Kate loved it here, everything was so simple, everyone shared, no one was jealous or angry or full of hate.

Castle spotted two men sitting in front of a tent, they were sharing a peace pipe. The indians gathered around the two indians that were smoking. Cheveyo and Kate got down their horses and gave their reins to a native that tied them to a tree. Rick followed Kate's actions and stayed quiet. He was studying everything on the village, making mental notes about it.

"Grand Chief," Kate addressed to one of the smoking indians. "I need to study the victims." Castle realized not all indians understood english, but the ones that did translate to the other ones. There was a common sigh and some heads moving in disapproval.

"Dead people are buried." The man with the biggest panache said in a poor english.

"I know, Grand Chief." Kate tried to empathize with him, after all she knew indians' beliefs. "But if I don't stop the murder more people will die." The sheriff added.

The second indian stood up, he didn't wear a panache but had an animal skull as hat, his long white hair showed below the weird headwear.

"No un-burying." The skull bearing man said before entering into his tent.

Kate wanted to follow him but two indians blocked the entrance. She looked at them in disbelief and turned to Castle.

"Unbelievable." She said. Around them the crow had started to dissipate, returning to their chores.

"Who was the second man?" Castle asked

"Spirit guide." Kate replied concretely. "They believe that if a person doesn't have a proper burial they will become ghosts."

The same indian that took their horses a while ago handled them the reins. Castle kept quiet for a while.

"If you are a quarter indian, you have an indian name and you know indian; why did they speak in english to you?" He asked. "And I highly doubt it was because they wanted me to feel welcomed." Castle added joking, but he realized the question hurt Beckett; he suddenly wanted to take it back, to eat his words.

They got on their horses and started trotting out of the village.

"While my grandfather was alive, he taught me about my heritage. My mom continued with his work once he passed away." Beckett broke the silence when they were far away from the indian community. "When I was 18 year-old I ran away from home, I came here. They accepted me as their own..." She continued her story but then she trailed off.

Here it was, the part of her past that hurt her, the part she hated saying.

"What happened, Kate?" Rick asked. This time his tone carried no curiosity but genuine concern

"When my mom was killed they blamed it on me." She said. A tear came out of her eye, she wiped it off quickly. "They said that my 'pale skin' side had made her take the wrong path, and that was why she was dead. So they exiled me."

The writer put a hand over her shoulder to show support. He knew what was like to lose a loved one; he had lost his father when he was a little boy.

"So, what do we do now?" He asked regarding to their investigation and his article.

"We try again tomorrow." She said with a pseudo-fake hope in her tone.

When most people came up against a wall, they gave up. But not Kate, she didn't let go, she didn't back down. It was what made her extraordinary.

It was then, when Richard Castle started to believe that Kate Beckett was never going to stop to amaze him.


	4. Chapter 4

Hey guys!

Couple of things before the chapter;  
1st of all; thanks to the guest user for implying I was stealing the story from another writer... Anyway, if you must know, I didn't know about that fanfic until you mentioned it; I immediately wrote to caffinate-me, we both read each other's story and got to the conclusion that the similarities were nothing more than, and I quote her, "a freak coincidence". By the way, The Western Way, is a brilliant story; if you guys like this one, you should definitely check that one out.

2nd, this weekend and the next one I'm pretty occupied; so I'm not sure if I'll be able to upload before April 5th, I definitely won't upload before March 28th.

Other than that, thanks for the reads, reviews and follows!

Hugs,

Anna

* * *

"Jenny, Whiskey on the rocks, please." Kate said as she pushed the saloon doors. The sheriff sat in front of the bartender, the counter separating them, she took her hat off and laid it to her right.

The Old Haunt used to shine on its day of glory; the chandeliers were polish, the tables had table clothes, there were dancers, there was even a piano man. Kate remembered those days fondly, her father was a good friend of Liam O'Malley, so she spent great time of her childhood in the bar, more that it was socially acceptable for a girl her age. But sadly the glory of the old but had died with its owner, Jenny's father, who had left nothing but a lot of unpaid bills to his kids.

Jenny and her two brothers, Dylan and Niall, tried to repay every debt their father left, but it was nearly impossible; Dylan was a teacher at the local school, he practically did it for charity; Niall was the Priest's apprentice, he had no income at all. Some locals, including Jim and Kate Beckett, had tried to help the O'Malley family, but the numbers to pay were simply too high for their poor local economy.

Jenny poured the alcohol on a dirty glass and put it on a table.

"What's tormenting you?" The bartender said. She knew her friend too good to tell something was wrong with her.

"It's that writer guy that came from New York." Kate let out playing with the ice of her drink. Jenny raised her sight, like if she was looking at something. Kate turned to see what had caught Jenny's attention.

Sitting on a corner were two women. One of them Kate knew very well, it was her dear friend Lanie Parish; the other looked younger than her Latin American company, her beautiful long red hair and her perfectly well cared dress made it obvious she was not from the town. The two women were sharing an awkward silence. Lanie raised her eyes to meet Kate and Jenny staring at her, both ladies at the counter quickly returned to their business, talking about Castle.

It didn't take long until Mrs. Esposito joined them.

"Were we that obvious?" Kate joked giving a slip to her drink.

"You need to give me a help in there, Kate." The Latina cried. "I've tried everything, nothing seems to make Miss Castle feel more comfortable."

"What part of my vast knowledge about city girls do you think it will help her the most?" The sheriff said with sarcasm. "Why did you bring her to a bar? That could ruin her reputation or something."

"She's been here for a week now and she hasn't left her room." Lanie said in a reproaching tone.

The sheriff stood up with her drink on one hand and walked towards the ginger. The girl was sitting up straight, trying to touch the chair as least as she could. She was moving her finger over the top of her glass, considering wether to drink the liquid inside of it or not.

"Drink it, no second thoughts." Kate said letting her body fall next to hers. The redhead looked at her in silence, wondering if she was giving her a friendly advice of mocking her. "Common, kid! Don't you have fun in Washington?"

"Not the western type of fun."

"Yeah, in those clothes, I'm not surprised." The sheriff came back at the bitter response of the girl. "How can you even breath with that?"

The redhead looked at her corset.

"I have an idea." Kate suggested. The girl raised her sight; her eyes filled with curiosity, she was her father's daughter for sure. "How about I give you some comfortable pants and we go for a ride?"

"I've never ride a horse."

Kate couldn't hide her disbelief; at the girl's age, Kate already knew how to walk on Caballo's back, but of course a city girl wouldn't even know how to sit on a horse. Kate promised the redhead that she'd de right back with a pair of pants and she would teach her how to ride a horse.

Back at the counter Lanie and Jenny warned Kate that it might not be the best idea she had had. First, they didn't know if Castle would approve of her daughter riding or even worse wearing pants; second and most important, Alexis could really get hurt, and the closest doctor they had was a two days trip away. Little did the sheriff care, and after she downed the rest of her drink in one slip, she left the bar.

Alexis looked how Lanie and the bartender stared at her, she returned to her drink. She was excited; horseback riding was something she wanted to learn as a child, but as long as her mother was alive, she forbid Alexis to do it. After her mom passed away Alexis had other interests in mind and horseback riding went to the list of things she'd probably never do. Until today. Maybe coming to the west wouldn't turn out to be as bad as she thought.

The sheriff came minutes later with a pair of beige pants. She handled them to Alexis saying that they were a little bit old and didn't fit her anymore, so the redhead could keep them. The redhead decided to follow Beckett's advice and drank whatever Lanie got her on one slip.

"Almost a coybow." Kate grinned at her. Alexis put the glass on the table and took the pants, she held them like they were some kind of treasure and went into the bathroom to get changed.

Kate didn't show it, but she was pretty excited as well; she always wanted a little sister to whom she could teach everything. Alas, Johanna Beckett had a complication during Kate's birth and couldn't conceive more kids.

"I'm ready!" The redhead said coming out of the ladies' room

"Ready for what?" A hoarse voice said.

Kate turned to face Castle, for a moment she had a mini heart attack. _Calm yourself down, Kate. _She told to herself. Alexis was in silence looking at her feet.

"I'm going to teach your daughter how to ride a horse." The sheriff let out fearless. The writer looked at her in surprise. "I can't believe a woman her age doesn't know such an important thing." Kate added.

"Because it's really important to know how to horseback ride in Washington." He said with sarcasm. He didn't mind Kate teaching Alexis how to ride; he minded the tone she was using on him, he minded that she was judging how he had raised his daughter. She didn't know how hard it had been with Meredith forbidding Alexis everything.

Beckett noticed Castle didn't like the comment so she decided to shut up. She took her hat and with her head she signed Alexis to follow her.

Outside the bar Kate bumped with Kevin and Javier. They were sweaty and wore a worried face. Kate urged them to tell them what was going on, they didn't say anything, they were speechless. Javier pointed something in the sky.

"Shit!" The sheriff let out when her eyes met what the Latin American was showing her.

There was a disturbance in the beautiful blue sky. Rising from the ground, up to the sun, a cloud of dark smoke could be seen.

"Shit." She repeated looking at Esposito.


	5. Chapter 5

So, here is the update. Sorry that it's so short, but I think it had to be stopped here, it will give the fic some kind of cliffhanger :)

Also, sorry for the grammar mistakes, I usually go through the chapters 3 or 4 times, but I don't have time today.

Thanks for reading! and a special thanks to The Grey Wolf Ghost for all her insights and PMs :)

Enjoy!

* * *

"So, what's the big deal about smoke?" Castle asked the westerns.

"It's not_ just_ smoke, Castle!" Kate said annoyed, she didn't have time to explain things to the clueless yankee. "It's a message. They are summing all the indians from the surroundings."

Sheriff Kate Beckett had only seen the smoke couple of times in her life. The natives only summed from two things, the yearly party to the Rain God and for war; it was dry season, so it was not hard to guess what was the reason for the summing.

Without saying anything else, Beckett left the crowd and walked towards her house. The hot weather of mid-july was not being nice to her; she could feel the drops of sweat running down her back, it was disgusting. Kate jumped her house's front steps and whistled to notify Boy that she was home.

The sheriff went directly to her room and started looking for something. Where did she put it last time she wore it? It had been so many years ago she couldn't remember.

Boy's growl broke the house's silence. The sheriff heard an unconvinced "Sheriff Beckett?" from the living room.

"Boy, stop." Kate ordered the animal when she saw Little Castle. "Kid, I have really have to go to the indian village."

Alexis showed a little of disappoint on her eyes but didn't say anything. Maybe she was used to people letting her down, that thought killed Beckett on the inside.

"Listen, I promise I'll teach you to horseback ride when I come back, but I really need to sort somethings out." Alexis nodded with a shy grin. The redhead followed the sheriff into her room, were Kate kept looking for something.

Boy growled once again. The other Castle came into Beckett's house. Kate knew Boy wouldn't attack Rick unless she ordered him to do it because the coyote had already met him before, so the sheriff ignored the journalist and kept searching for what she had come to get. The Castles looked at her with puzzled eyes.

"Aha!" Kate let out when she finally found it. It was below her bed, on a cow leather envelop.

Quickly, Kate dressed on her indian clothes. Castle was speechless when he saw her go out of her room. Wearing nothing more than a Beige skirt and a top; Kate was showing more skin that what was socially accepted back in their world. Castle couldn't stop staring at her tanned legs, the color suggested that it was not the first time Kate wore clothes like this. He knew he shouldn't be watching her, practically devouring her with his eyes, especially with Alexis on the same room.

"Stop staring or I'll poke your eyes out." She treated him.

"You are going the the reunion, right?" Castle said trying to focus his eyes on something else. "Can I go with you?"

He realized he could see Kate's silhouette on the window's reflection. God, she looked so good dressed as an indian. _Focus, Castle_. His thoughts returned to what was Kate doing rather than how was Kate looking; she had found some ornaments and was putting them on. The headband had some colored feathers on the side, it made her hair look curlier than usual. The leather band on her arm gave the final touch, she could easily blend with the natives and no one would think she's not a hundred percent savage.

"You are still staring." Kate said. Her reflection was looking at him. He blinked twice and turned to see her.

"And you still didn't answer my question." He pointed out.

The sheriff signed. Kate knew Castle would followed her even if she said he couldn't come along. '_It's for protection,_' the journalist begged her to let him come along, she turn around and started walking. Kate and Rick both knew she needed less protection than he did.

"You coming?" The sheriff said when she noticed that he didn't follow her.

"Yeah..." Castle replied a little bit breathless, part because her legs and part because for a moment he thought she wouldn't let him come along.

The sun had already hid behind the little wester mountains, the sky was still light, but the orange and red from the sunset will soon be replaced by the dark night. Kate and Rick left the town on a hurry, she had given quick instructions to Ryan, who would be in charge of the sheriff office until she returned.

Boy ran next to them in silence. the coyote was a wise animal, he knew when he needed to unheard.

As they galloped closer and closer to the indian village drums could be heard. Kate felt a stone in her stomach, if red skins started a war against white skins there would be a huge bloodshed, and not precisely with white blood implied. Indians still fought with bows and arrows, axes, lances and sometimes whips, that wasn't enough to win against guns and cannons.

They stopped the horses nearby the village.

"You stay here." She ordered him. "You will not pass as indian, and you'll blow up my cover." Kate added when she say he was ready to complain.

The sheriff tied Caballo to a tree and got her axe and a gun. She handled another to Castle

"Stay here." She repeated.

Castle watched Beckett disappear between the little indian tents. The journalist got down his horse and tied him next to Beckett's horse. He could hear the drums louder and louder, and after a while voices started to sing a song, it sounded spooky. But as long as there was music, Richard knew that Kate was ok.

The gun Beckett had given to Castle caught his attention. He started playing with it, pointing threes and imitating the sound of a shot.

_BANG. _

Castle froze. He had not shot his gun.

_BANG. _

Another one. Then he realized the music had stopped, instead of the drums only screams could be heard.

"Beckett!" He screamed and started running towards the village.

He crashed against a huge human stampede. Dozens of natives running in all directions. Castle moved to a side and watch in panic, he couldn't find Kate's face anywhere.

"Beckett!" The journalist yelled. "Kate!"

Castle found a space through which he could reach the village's center. And then he saw her. Beckett laid next to a body; she was alive, the other indian wasn't that lucky. The journalist ran towards her and pulled her by the shoulder.

"We need to go, Kate." He grabbed her on his arms and started running, resisting her actions to be freed.

The yankee was exhausted by the time they reached the horses. He started untying the animals when he noticed Beckett didn't move at all. The sheriff was leaning on her horse with a hand on her right flank. His eyes moved from her hand to the place on his shirt, where her flank had been when he was carrying her.

It was red.

Beckett had been shot.

Castle swallowed hard and looked into her eyes, trying not to panic.


	6. Chapter 6

Hola!

Here I leave chapter 6, thanks for all the reviews and comments and follows and all that :)

On a side note, I won't be uploading until next month because have two difficult subjects/tests this month and if I fail my mom is going to take my computer away - yeah, it doesn't matter that I'm a uni student, I still get grounded because of bad grades...

Take care of yourselves

Anna

* * *

A burning feeling on her flank woke her up. She was lying on the ground, Castle looking down at her. 'Damn,' She thought, 'What had just happen?'

The sheriff could only remember a shooting and blood. Blood on her hands. Kate looked at Castle, he was worried, she could see it on his eyes. The journalist poured some of the liquid from the bottle of whiskey on her wound. The burning feeling came back

"What are you doing?" She screamed in pain.

"Cleaning your wound."

"Wasting my whiskey!" She tried to sit but Castle didn't allow it. "That's what you are doing!"

"You were shot." He pointed out.

"Thanks, I didn't figure that out by myself." Kate said. She touched the wound and checked her fingers, it was still bleeding. "Get my knife and put it on the fire." The sheriff ordered the journalist.

Castle followed Beckett's orders. He grabbed her knife from the bag Caballo was carrying and put the metal part on the small bonfire he had made. Now he regretted not pursuing his mother's wishes of becoming a doctor, he could be of greater use to Kate as a doctor than as a journalist.

"How much time was I out?" She asked.

"Not much. The time that took me to get you on the horse and get away from the village."

Good, so she hasn't been bleeding that much. She'd survive this time.

"OK, Castle, now you'll get the knife and you'll put the metal side on the wound." Castle swallowed. "Yes, it'll hurt, but it'll also stop the bleeding and clean the wound."

He went to bonfire and reached for the knife.

"Don't stop, even if I'm crying from the pain." She warned him. Castle looked into her eyes and placed the hot weapon on her wound.

Beckett's body tried to move away by reflex, but Castle held her tight. He could see her eyes watering, it broke his heart; knowing that he was hurting her, that he was the reason behind those tears. Her hand grabbed one of his arms and clutch it strongly, to the point where it started to hurt Castle, but he didn't say anything, he was just concentrated on the knife and Kate's wound.

After a few seconds that felt like hours Rick took the knife away from the wound. The blood had stopped going out, so he guessed he had done a good job.

Beckett laid still on the ground.

"I hurt you." The sheriff pointed out staring at his arm.

"It's nothing." Castle replied putting his sleeves down, hiding the marks he got from her grip. "So, what now?"

"We return to the indian village." Kate replied.

"What? No way, I'm taking you to our village."

"Castle, if we don't figure things out a war will start between the native and the pale skins." The sheriff explained looking straight to his blue eyes, Kate had never noticed how pretty they were. She blinked to come back to reality. "And we all know who will end up losing if that happens."

Richard thought about it. Kate was right, the native americans didn't stand a chance against the civilized people. 'Civilized people,' he thought; the people that went on shooting indians and destroying the nature, what an irony.

But on the other hand he was afraid; Beckett had been shot, he didn't want her condition to get worse, and he didn't want go get shot as well. He admired her selfless attitude, Kate was willing to risk her life to save the indian community. He took a deep breath

"Ok, Kate; we'll do as you say." A grin appeared on Beckett's face.

"Help me to get on the horse."

Getting the sheriff on her feet and then on the horse was harder than they both expected it to be. Castle didn't have any place were he could grab Beckett in order to help her; the woman on the other side didn't have a great degree of movement.

The night felt endless. For Castle it had been weeks since the last time he had slept or seen Alexis. His life in Washington seemed so far away; all the parties and most of his friends were almost vague memories by now. Not more than two months ago he had been in New York, one of the biggest cities of the United States, asking for a wedding annulment. It had been just two months but for Richard, his marriage with Gina, felt like a life time ago.

A great deal of anger eyes welcomed them at the indian village. Castle looked to all sides, trying to find a friendly face but he failed that task. He decided to fix his sight on Kate, who was riding in front of him.

The sheriff stopped in front of the spiritual guide.

"This is your fault, Rides with Coyote." The respected man said when she stopped. "One of our has died because of you."

"It was not my fault." Kate replied in a harsh tone. The multitude gasped; even if they didn't understand what she had said, no one could ever reply back to the spirit man, even less in that voice tone. "Death would have come to the village, even if I'd have stayed at my town."

Some red skins in the crowd started screaming things like 'You bring evil vibes!', 'pale skins should never be in contact with red skins.' and some other things Richard didn't understand. Kate listen to the crowd insult her, Caballo was getting nervous. Then Kate spoke loud and clear.

"Silence." She said on the native tongue. "What kind of behavior is this? Have you all forgot the American Indian commandments? Our commandments?"

Castle was the only one that didn't understand her, but that was not important because she needed to win over the Red Skins' approval. Castle was going to follow her anyway.

"I believe 'Work together for Mankind' and 'Give assistance and kindness when needed' are part of those." Even the spiritual guide was paying attention to her.

Kate asked Rick to help her get down of the horse. Then she continued her speech.

"I don't know who is killing our brothers and sisters." She confessed. "But I want to catch him and bring him to justice, for all the white skins who have killed one of our kind and never took responsibilities for that."

The crowd started to agree with her. Castle let a breath out, he looked relieved, minutes ago he thought they'd be killed by the infuriated natives. Kate walked towards the Grand Chief and exchanged some words with him. The man with the feather headdress screamed something in their tongue and little by little the red skins began to go walk away, some entering into their tents and some getting on their horses and galloping away.

The journalist noticed the sheriff walking towards her. She looked angry and satisfied at the same time, what a confusing woman.

"Come on, Castle." She said passing by him. "We need to get some rest."

Castle raised an eyebrow confused and watched her walk away before following her. By the time he caught up with her, Kate was pulling some fabrics out of her bag. Blankets, Beckett had blankets on her bag; what else did she had there inside? a bath tube?

"Mmm. A bath tube would be nice." Castle let out. 'Shit, did I say that outloud?' he thought.

Luckily Kate was too busy fighting with her jacket, trying to use it as a pillow. He giggled at the view, Kate looked at him with a dead serious look, it was obviously she was angry and not just because her jacket couldn't magically transform into a feather's pillow.

"Why are you so mad?" Rick asked her, playing with fire.

"Because I still don't have permission to see the bodies." She let out throwing her jacket with anger as far as she could. "Why are they so stuck up and stubborn? Don't they understand I can get really important information from the wounds?"

"Like for example...?" Castle asked.

It was one thing to solve a murder on a city like New York or Washington, were leads could be follow; but here in the west, the land with no laws, some one could just go shooting people around for fun.

"Well, the bullets for example." Kate explained. She was not angry at Rick's question; she was very passionate about the topic, you could see it by the way she talked. "Guns' design changed, the old and the new gun have different bullets. So If I could just see the bullet and narrow the guns to some models, I could get closer to the killer. And then..."

"And then what? You'll ride the whole west of the country putting people that have a gun behind bars?" Castle let out. If she thought that she'd catch a killer with only a bullet, she was so naive.

"If that what it takes to save my people, then yes." The sheriff replied coldly. They were back to step one, where he was just a stupid yankee.

_My_ people, she had said. Castle realized this matter to her more than he could ever imagined, it was not just solving a murder, it was protecting the only thing that kept her mother's memories alive. He reached for something he had on his pocket. With it closed in his fist he looked at Kate and signed. He knew that if she didn't let go, this would drive her crazy; but he also knew that not solving this situation wouldn't be good for her mental health.

"Well, do you have any other bright intervention?" The sheriff asked when she noticed him staring at her.

"I took it out of your wound before I poured the whiskey on it." Rick said while he opened his fist. On the palm of his hand there was a bloody bullet. "Just don't hit me." He added. The journalist didn't know how would Kate cope with the fact that he had been touching her.

"Hit you? I want to kiss you!" Kate said grabbing the bullet. After studying it for a while Kate came to the realization that the little metal piece that she now held could have killed her. "I can't believe that I'm saying this, but I'm glad you have my back, Castle." The sheriff looked at his eyes and smiled.

The city-cowboy smiled back and laid down next to Kate, but not too close to make her, and himself, feel uncomfortable. He looked up to the sky, there were so many stars.

"Always." He replied to her start way of saying thank you and closed his eyes.

* * *

And that's it for today! Hope you guys liked this chapter :)

And about the gun and bullets thing, I don't really know if it's true; but whatever, this is fiction anyway.

See you in a month or so!


	7. Chapter 7

Update! :)

Hope you guys will like it! I don't know when I'll update again, but it won't take as long as this took.  
Other than that, thanks for reading, following, favorite-ing, reviewing and all those amazing things you make to encourage me!

Hugs,

Anna

* * *

Kate Beckett woke up with the sun. The grass was frosty, but their body warmth had kept a zone around them dry. The female sheriff sat and looked to her side, Castle was still sleeping. Kate thought of all the people, places and things she had love. Richard and Alexis Castle had appeared on her life and fleetingly won a place on her heart.

Lately Kate had been losing sleep, thinking about the things that she and the journalist could be. She smiled at him. He was not that bad for a city body, he could almost fit on the Wild West World.

_Almost_. Kate could feel a piece of her heart dying with the thought of Castle leaving her. But sooner or later, Richard Castle would return to the big city, the so called civilized word and would leave her alone. A while ago she would have been thrilled by the thought of Castle returning to his world and leaving her, but now she was not so sure she wanted Castle to leave New Mexico.

The woman stared up at the sun and felt its warmth filling her soul. He had come and messed things around, but she had started to like it.

"Hey, sleepy head," the sheriff smiled at the journalist when he opened his eyes. "We need to get going, the more we wait the colder the tracks get."

They packed up their things and hit the road. As always Kate did the guiding and Rick did the following. He looked at Kate, who rode next to him. Kate always rode in front of him, never to his side. But that was not the thing that troubled Castle's mind. She was silent today, and he couldn't figure out why.

Kate Beckett didn't usually share her thoughts, but her silence had different meanings. Like when she suck her cheeks a little bit and raised an eyebrow, that meant she was annoyed. Or when her sight went dark, she was angry. It had take him a while to become fluent on Kate Beckett. And this silence was one Castle had not seen yet.

"I thought we were going to the indian village again." the journalist commented when he realized they had passed the Red Skins' town.

"The shooter shot from a short distance, there are only two places were he could have hid." she explained.

She had thought about it last night when she tried to get some sleep. The indian village was surrounded by a river and two small hills. It has impossible to have a clear shoot from the river. The bullet would have never reached the town's center. It had to be from somewhere up, somewhere where the shooter had a good sight of the whole community.

The top of one hill was clean, no one had walk on it. There was no sign of tracks for footprints, not even animal footprints. They had more luck on the second hill. There were horses' tracks on the ground. Also a mark on the land, like if someone had laid down. Probably the shooter for better aiming.

"They were three men." the sheriff said counting the horses' tracks.

"Who do you know that?"

"There are three sets of horses tracks..."

"I mean, how do you know they were men?" the writer pointed out. "They could be hired femme fatale assassins, or..."

"Stop it, Castle." Kate interrupted him. "Three people, three people were here." She corrected herself. "Happy?"

"Not really, how do you know they are human?" she raised an eyebrow, that was her 'I'm annoyed face'. "What? Don't you believe in extraterrestrial life?"

"Only an idiot could believe in extraterrestrial life." It was the only thing she could reply.

He apparently was offended by her way of thinking.

"Mormons believe that God created many planets like earth." Castle retorted. "Are you saying a whole religion are idiots because their belief is different than yours?"

Castle looked serious. Plus he had a point about the Mormons, whatever that was. "Ok, Castle, if my opinion is so important to you. I don't believe in anything I can't see nor feel."

She gently hit Caballo so he'd start walking. The horses's prints were still trackable and if Kate followed them carefully, they would lead her straight to the killer.

"That doesn't sound very Native American." Castle pointed out. "Isn't their belief to believe in spirits and nature forces?"

"It's _their_ belief, not mine." Kate stated. He was so smart sometimes. "Although you can feel the nature forces. The wind, the water, the sun... They are all things you can see and feel" She added, even though she didn't understand why she had to explain herself to Castle.

Richard didn't seem satisfied with her answer but he didn't comment on it. Beckett had realized that ever since she got shot Castle had been acting strangely around her. Maybe he finally realized that the West was a dangerous place to be. And that meant that he would take Alexis and return to Washington as fast as he could. That thought made her feel an emptiness on her stomach. She remembered the thoughts she had earlier that day. What was happening to her? Was it possible that she was growing fond of Castle? She shook her head to get rid of those thoughts. She? and Castle? That was a joke.

"Are you OK?" she heard Richard ask. "You've been quiet lately." he pointed out.

"I'm always quiet, Castle."

"This is a different quiet." Rick replied, she looked at him. "Something is bothering you."

"When are you leaving?" she asked bluntly.

"Wow. I really annoy you _that_ much." he let out. Kate regretted the tone she had used on that question, she could see she had hurt him. "Don't worry, as soon as you catch the killer I'll leave for good."

From the moment Castle had started following Beckett around he knew that he was bothering her, but he never thought it would be to this extend. Especially since he thought there was something going on between them. Maybe it was just his overreactive imagination. His mother always told him it would get him into trouble.

Kate wanted to reply, but words didn't come out of her mouth. She was speechless. '_That's not what I meant_.' she wanted to say. But for once Kate found herself not having the courage to speak her mind.

Yes, Richard Castle made her feel things. Things she had never felt before. And yes, that scared her. Maybe because people fear what they don't know. Maybe because she had only heard about these feelings in the books her father had gave her. The only thing Kate knew for sure, is that these feelings never had a good outcome. Juliet, Catherine Earnshaw, the little mermaid; had something in common, they all had made sacrifices for the men they loved and then suffered a terrible fate. Kate didn't want that.

"Eh, Kate?" Richard's voice brought her back to reality.

Castle was looking at the placed where the tracks ended. Las Cruces. The killer was among them. The person who had shot her was on _her_ town.

"You've got to be kidding me." she said with a shocked look on her eyes.


	8. Chapter 8

Ladies and gentlemen, chapter 8!

We are almost done :) I think I'll finish it in 3 or 5 chapters, it depends how the story flows

About the little mermaid being in comparison to failed love stories, in the original story -not the disney version, of course- she can't kill the prince after he marries another woman and she dissolves into foam.

Hugs!

Anna

* * *

Beckett knew that one person would know for sure if there was someone new in town.

"Lanie, did a foreigner come yesterday?" The sheriff asked her friends.

The owner of the inn was behind the check in table. She was doing come calculations about their earnings until Kate talked.

"No," she replied. "Do you know how else didn't come yesterday? That writer boy of yours." A smiled appeared on her face.

A costumer that was ears-dropping over their conversation raised an eyebrow. Kate couldn't care less what other people thought about her. She had a serial killer walking her streets, talking to her people. She needed to catch him.

"Lanie, this is serious." Beckett said emotionless.

"Castle not coming to his room is also serious." Her Latin-American friend replied.

"Ok, fine!" Kate admitted when she saw she wouldn't get any information from her friend. "Castle and I were together. But not how you think."

The old lady ears-dropping moved closer to hear more about Kate's wild night with Castle.

"Didn't you mother teach you it was bad manners to listen other people's conversations?" Beckett turned to the old lady.

The woman's face turned to pale, clearly ashamed of being caught hearing the conversation. She pretended that she was interested on a painting that was hanged on a wall down the hallway and quickly left the inn's lobby.

"Now, would you please enlighten me," the sheriff continued. "Was there something unusual while I was gone?"

"Other than Kevin finally Jenny out... No."

If the situation would have been different, if she wouldn't have a serial killer on the loose, she would be happy for her two friends. Kevin had had a crush on Jenny since they were both ten years old, but he was never brave enough to make a move.

"Talking to you it's pointless, Lanie." Kate said with a grin and turned to leave the inn.

"As pointless as you trying to hide your feelings for that writer boy!" She heard behind her back and couldn't help to smile.

A smile that disappeared as soon as she saw Rick waiting for her outside the inn. He was drawing something on the ground, showing some kids how tall the buildings in Washington here. He obviously missed home, and that broke Kate's heart. She wouldn't never admit it out loud, but she wanted him to stay.

As soon as he saw her, he stood up and cleaned the dirty on his hands by clamping and then brushing them on his pants.

"Learned something new?"

"No."

"What now?"

She didn't reply but kept on walking towards Jenny's bar. Maybe she had seen something suspicious.

The bar was crowded with filthy mines workers. Kate knew Jenny hated that type of costumers, but she needed the money so she had to keep up with them. All the tables were taken so Kate tried to find one with a familiar face. Between all the dirty faces she found Kevin and Javier waving at her. She started walking towards them.

The sheriff was almost all way through when she felt a man grabbing her ass. Unconsciously she grabbed the hand and twisted it as hard and fast as she could.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry." The drunk man said in pain. "I'll never do it again, I swear!"

Kate let go of his hand and warned him that next time he laid a hand on a female he'd end up in jail. She turned to face Richard, who couldn't hide the shocked expression. Did he think less of her? Did he think she was aggressive and merciless? She shook her head to make the thought go away, since when did Kate Beckett care about what others think about her.

"Nice moves, Becks." Javier said with a smile when the sheriff and her companion sat next to them.

"I hate miners."

"That one, in particular, is trouble." Javier kept talking. "His name is Elton Smith, he came couple of times to our inn to do some inappropriate things. Of course when Lanie found out she kicked him out."

Kate let a laugh out, she could imagine her friend kicking the miner out. Elton was probably twice her size and weight. But no one on their right minds would mess with an angry Lanie.

"Kate." Rick said after a while. He had been staring at the guy that had touched Kate's butt since they sat with Javier and Kevin. "Did you manage to figure out if our killer had an old or a new gun?"

"Yes, it's a new one. Why?" She didn't see why that was relevant at the moment.

"Because he's carry a new model." He was still looking at the miner.

"That doesn't mean he killed the indians." As much as Kate hated men like Elton, she refused to believe that he was such a bad person

"I don't think a lot of miners have the means to buy a that model. It's expensive."

"We don't have proof or reasons to bring him into the office."

"Actually," everybody turned to Kevin, who had been silent until now. "He had a brother named Elijah. Elijah..." He didn't know how to put it in a nice way. "raped a native. When the family of the native found out they killed him."

"Elijah raped a native girl." Kate started putting the pieces of the story together. "The natives found out and killed Elijah. Elton learned that the natives killed his brother and so he went killing natives."

"It's a revenge crime." Rick and Kate concluded at unison.

"That's the universal motive for crime." Rick said with a grin. "Can we arrest him now?"

With out thinking it twice Kate stood up and walked towards her suspect.

"Elton Smith," he panicked a little bit at the sound of his name. "You are under arrest for killing ten indians and shooting at a police officer. Anything you say will be..." Before she could finish, Elton stood up and ran towards the exit.

This guy was more stupid that Kate gave him credit for.

"Ryan, Esposito," she felt her friends behind her. "Go and get the bastard that shot me."


	9. Chapter 9

Es el finaaaaal - this is the eeeeend.

Joking, but it is the chapter _before_ the last chapter. Yup, I'll be ending it on chapter 10.  
What will happen? Will Castle die? Will Alexis get pregnant? Will Kate turn into an eagle? - Yeah, that last one was because I recently wanted Brother Bear. And no, no of those scenarios will happen :P

Also, a lot of native american things happen on this chapter. I wanted to point out that I made up everything, except the names that are on _italic_, those I googled :D

Anyway, if you guys like to read about Castle and Beckett in a complete different environment, you should all check 'Queen of Thieves' by APseudonimo and Wolfergirl. - it's uploaded on APseudonimo's profile.  
In that fic Katherine Beckett is... Wait for it... ROBIN effin HOOD! how awesome is that?

See you for the next - and final - chapter!

Hugs,

Anna

* * *

Elton Smith had not been hard to convict. He had been so drunk by the time Beckett questioned him that had confessed all his crimes, with a bit of pride on his voice tone. Since the east coast didn't care about the justice system in the west side of the country, the sheriff had decided to leave the killer's fate in the hands of the native americans. They'd judge him and give him the punishment they think he deserved.

"Just like that, he admitted to kill those indians?" Castle asked a little bit shocked, back in Washington no one confessed their crimes.

"I guess it's true what they say," Beckett replied with a smile. "A drunk man never lies."

Elton didn't have a family, he was not a friendly person either. He wouldn't be missed by anyone.

They were riding their horses towards the indian village. Behind the horses Elton walked, his hands were tied with a rope to Caballo. The murderer looked tired and thirsty, Kate offered him so water but didn't let him get on a horse. He'd walk to the indian village, that was the punishment she had given him.

"Why didn't you just kill him?" the writer inquired. "It's not like the red skins will spare his life."

"My job is to catch criminals and serve justice," she stated. "In this case the justice will be decided by the Indians."

Rick knew what this case had meant for her, it had been close to home. He admired how good she had handled the situation back on her office, she didn't raise her voice nor hit the man that killed her people, that shot her. She was a a good sheriff, and he admired her professionalism.

They reached the indian village before twilight. Their visit took everyone by surprise, the spirit guide and the grand chief were not expecting them. As always, the natives gathered around a bonfire and waited for the grand chief to talk.

"Rides with Coyote has brought us the man that killed our brothers and sisters." Kate translated to Castle while the chief talked in their native language. "He'll be executed for his crimes."

Castle didn't look pleased by the verdict, but capital punishment was a valid penalty in all the states. Besides Elton was a psychopath who had killed plenty of innocent men and women, he deserved a fate like that.

Kate started to walk towards her horse, followed by Castle when she heard the spirit guide calling her native name and asking her and Castle to approach to him. With a confused look on her face, she and her partner approached the spirit guide. He stared at them with a smile that eased Kate's thoughts.

"_Native American_ isn't blood," he said to the sheriff and the writer in english. "It is what something we carry in heart." The spirit guide continued, he was now facing the other indians. "The love and the respect for land, for those who inhabit it. That is what to be indian is." The few indians who understood english nodded, approving what the wise man had said.

The spirit guide called the Grand Chief, who approached to them with two necklaces. Kate could recognize that each one had a fang hanging. One was bigger than the other. The Chief gave the spirit guide the necklace with the smaller fang first.

"Rides with Coyote," He called the sheriff in his native language, she approached to him. "I've never been more proud of you. You have showed persistence and brought peace of mind to our families and the spirits."

The old man put the necklace around Kate's neck. She examined the fang. It was a wolf fang, it was similar to the one her mother and her grandfather had.

"You have earned your place among us, Rides with the Coyote." The Grand Chief added. Everyone applauded except Castle, who didn't understand what was going on.

Then the chief then gave the second necklace to the spirits guide. They told the sheriff to translate the spirit guide's words to the outsider.

"They want you to come closer." She explained to the writer, he walked towards them and stood next to his partner.

The sky was already dark when the spirit guide started talking. Every once in a while he'd stop for Kate to translate to Rick. He looked at her while she talked, she had never seemed so beautiful. Maybe it was the stars shining above them, maybe it was the fire's flame, but her beauty was stunning.

"Pale skin, you have shown respect and solidarity to a family that is not your own." The spirit guide stopped at smiled at him and put the second necklace around the yankee's neck. "And for that you have proven to be one of us. You shall be called, _Pahana_."

Castle looked in ecstasies. He didn't know what to do or what to say. Kate was proud of him. They finally had something in common, something that united them. If only that would be enough to make him stay.

A party followed the integration of the two newest members. Elton Smith was the only one not having fun, he was tied at a tree, a huge indian watching over him. He didn't look scared to face death, he didn't look ashamed of his acts. Even after his drunk state disappeared, he seemed proud of his acts. His behavior disgusted Castle.

The writer approached to the sheriff after being congratulated by everyone. Beckett was looking at the kids dancing around the bonfire, her face was filled with peace and joy. She looked ravishing. Kate eyes met with his and for a moment Rick just wanted to kiss her, but he needed to control himself.

"That's a cougar fang." She pointed at his necklace after a moment of silence.

"Cougar." Castle repeated. "I'm awesome like that."

Kate shook her head with a smile on her face. He was such a child sometimes.

"What about my name?" he asked. "Pahana. What does it mean?"

"It means _lost white brother_," she explained. "I think _Tate_ would have fit you better. Tate means _he who talks too much_."

"_Ha-Ha_, Sheriff Beckett." He faked to be offended. "Very funny."

They both laughed. Castle would miss this, her wit, her laugh, everything that involved her.

"What's the indian term to Rides with Coyote?"

"_Istaga_ is the closest term. It means _Coyote Man_."

They sat one next to another and gazed at the stars.

"Istaga sounds funny." He pointed out.

"Because Pahana sounds so serious." That was her best comeback? How old was she? Five? She mentally slapped herself.

"I'll miss you, Istaga." He said after a while. She looked at him and bite her lower lip.

"I'll miss you too, city boy."


	10. Chapter 10

Last chapter, guys!

Thanks to all of you for commenting, following, favorite-ing.  
A special thanks to always-as-you-wish-love, who wrote me couple of days ago and asked when I'd update and finish this fanfic; seriously I wouldn't be publishing today if it wasn't for you :)

Hope you like it. I didn't want to make it super cheesy, because I hate cheesy stuff.

Anyway, we had a nice ride, or at least I like to think so. I've met awesome people thanks to this story, I'm glad for that.

Hugs,

Anna

* * *

"I can't believe we are actually going." Alexis said looking thru the window.

Castle stopped packing and looked at her. They had moved to the wild west two months ago, at first Alexis had been recusant, hating him and claiming this had been the worse decision ever and that he sucked at parenting. But little by little the western life had grown into her. Her skin had gotten a little bit darker and she definitely looked more alive than before. He couldn't help but wonder if the changes on his daughter would be accepted back in the civilized world.

"Well, kiddo," the writer stood next to her and embraced her. "There's nothing we can do. My assignment is done."

"Dad," the redhead turn on her heels to face her father. "Don't you feel like we belong here? Like we are meant to stay here?"

Richard nodded. He knew he belonged with Kate, that they were meant to be together. But they had a life in back home; well, the remnants of a life. Alexis had her friends and her mother; Castle had his friends and his mother, and an ex-wife who hated him.

"What if we fake our death?" Alexis suggested with a smile on her face. Castle let a laugh out.

"You have a vivid imagination, I'll give you that." He said putting a strap of her hair behind her ear. "I thought you wanted to go back and meet with your friends, with Ashley." she looked her feet.

"But - I made new friends here," the younger woman said. "And what about Kate?"

"What about her?" Rick looked straight into his daughter's eyes. He knew he was crazy about her, but he didn't know it was obvious

"You like her!" she pointed out. "You don't have to admit it, I can see it."

"I'm not going to deny it either," he replied. "But we have nothing to do here, my job is done and you have to go back and marry a suitable man."

The writer went back to packing leaving Alexis alone by the window. She glared at him in silence and sat, with her arms crossed over her chest, on the bed. She didn't help him pack, just like when they had left Washington. She just stared with an angry look. Castle didn't comment on it, he knew it would result on a fight and the fight will only make her angrier and will make him lose time.

Alexis didn't help either to take the baggage down the stairs. He had to do three trips up and down while she sat on the reception, watching him struggle. She was definitely making it hard for him.

The carriage driver was waiting for them outside the hostel, he helped Castle with the luggage and soon they were on their way back home.

'_Home,'_ Alexis thought, '_What a relative thing. What is home, really?_' she had heard that home was where the heart was. Where was her heart? She missed her friends back in Washington, but she loved her new friends. She loved the western style, the fact she didn't have to wait for her hair to dry before going out with her friends, the fact she could wear pants if she felt like, the fact that she could go into bars without damaging her reputation. Alexis loved her hometown and her life back in Washington, but above that she loved the freedom she had in New Mexico.

"Don't worry, Alexis." Her father's voice brought her back to reality. "In now time you'll forget we even lived two months in the west."

"Do you really want to forget?" She asked dryly.

"We can't stay." He answered, he knew where that question came from. Beckett. She meant if he wanted to forget _her_.

"You are always complaining how you hate your job and how your life is boring. How you'd like to write exciting stories but you never have time."

"And what will I base my stories on?" Richard inquired, he was starting to get angry at his daughter, did she really think it was easy for him to leave everything he had experienced?. "About a tantalizing Sheriff who never stops until she catches the bad guy?"

And then by magic it all clicked in his head. He shut up for a minute. Thousand of ideas flying in his head. Alexis grinned at her father's expression, she knew he was up to something. Up to something good.

"Stop," The writer said looking out of the window. "Stop the carriage!"

The driver stopped asking if they had forgotten something. Richard untied one of the carriage horses and got on it. With out giving explanations to the clearly confused man, Castle started galloping towards the town. He was sure Alexis would fill the driver in.

The warm wind blushed his hair as he and his horse approached the town at a fast pace. The writer had never felt more alive and more secure about anything in his whole life. He abruptly stopped the animal in front of the sheriff's office and entered without announcing himself.

Inside, Kate was sitting, her legs were over the table and she was staring at her drink. Like if she was considering to either drink it or not. The sound of the doors opening and closing didn't make her raise her sight from the glass of alcohol.

"You left without saying goodbye," she said, her voice tone sounded hurt. Earlier that day, leaving without saying goodbye seemed like a good idea to him, now he regretted even thinking about it.

"I'm - We're not leaving." the writer replied. These words caught her attention. "We have decided we're going to stay. At least for a while." he said walking towards her. She stood up and met him half way.

"Why?" she asked, staring at his eyes, then at his lips.

"I - um." He cleared his throat. "I'm quitting my job and becoming a writer. A novel writer."

"Oh," she looked disappointed.

"And there's something else." Richard said after breathing in and gathering all the courage he could gather from the air around them. She turned to face him

Castle raised his hand and reached for her cheek, he knew it was a bold movement. He knew that she could break his arm easily if she didn't like what he was doing. But he knew that if he never tried, he'd never know. Out of all the possible scenarios that ran through his mind, he never expected that Kate would reach his hand with hers and caress it. He brought her closer to him, reducing the distance between them. He looked at her beautiful eyes, she was looking back at him with a smile. Expecting him to take the next step. His eyes went down to her lips. Oh, how he longed to taste them.

Like if Kate could read his thoughts, she completely closed the distance between them, pressing her lips against his. Rick could feel his blood boiling through his veins. With his free hand he brought her waist closer to him, she didn't seem to mind. In fact, she passed both of her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss.

When they separated to reach for air Kate looked at Rick with a smile on her face. She looked so beautiful, so radiant. He wished he could make her this happy every day of her life, that's the least she deserved.

"So," Kate said looking right into his eyes and soul. "Tell me about this novel of yours."

"It's going to be set on the Wild West." He started explaining, still holding her close to him. "And the main character will be a female sheriff who fights crime." She smiled at him.

"Really?" Castle nodded.

"She's going to be really smart, very savvy, haunting good looks, really good at her job." Her smile widened. "And kind of slutty."

Kate pinched him.

"What was that for?" He asked and she replied raising an eyebrow like if the answer to that question was obvious. "Ok, I'll try to make my best to not make her slutty," The sheriff nodded in compliance. "But I can't promise anything."

"You are pushing your luck, Mr. Castle." she teased him, caressing his nose with hers.

"I've been doing that since I came here," the writer replied. "And it has been working out pretty good."

"So, Pahana," Kate said making an allusion to his indian name. "What are you going to do today? That is, apart from getting in my way and bothering me."

"I'll figure something out."

"Sure you will." She said and kissed him one more time.

Her mother had once told her an old indian proverb that said '_May your life be like a wildflower; growing freely in the beauty and joy of each day._' She wouldn't worry about the future, she would just enjoy the present. One day at the time. Kate didn't know how things would work out with the yankee, she didn't even know if thing would work out. But she knew that at the moment she was happy, he made her happy, more happy than what she had been in a long time, and that was the only thing that mattered.


End file.
